Washboards were quite common before the days of the automatic home and commercial clothes washing machines, and were used for rubbing the clothes, by hand, in soapy water to loosen the dirt in the clothes. With the advent of the automatic washing machine, this became almost a lost art, but personal articles of clothing, particularly intimate apparel, still continue to be washed by hand in wash basins such as bathroom handwash basins, kitchen sinks or any other basin that is available. Washboards, usually used for the family wash, were readily available for personal washing, but now are no longer seen or available.
It is much harder to do personal washing, not only in the home, but also when traveling, and this invention of a personal washboard is very useful when provided in motel and hotel washbasins by the management.